City of Overland Park

City of Overland Park Safe Bicycle Use Outreach Project Draft Project Report January 2015

This page intentionally left blank.

Acknowledgements This report was developed under the guidance of the City of Overland Park Department of Public Works with support from a Steering Committee of stakeholders. Funding for the project was provided by a grant from the Mid-America Regional Council and the City of Overland Park. Prepared For City of Overland Park City Project Manager Brian Shields, City Traffic Engineer 8500 Santa Fe Drive Overland Park, KS 66212 City of Overland Park Safe Bicycle Use Outreach Project Steering Committee Aaron Bartlett, Mid-America Regional Council Robin Fish, Downtown Overland Park Partnership Terry Happer Scheier, City of Overland Park Councilmember - Ward 1 Dave Hill, Blue Valley School District Cliff Middleton, Johnson County Park & Recreation District Ned Reitzes, Overland Park Planning Commission Eric Rogers, BikeWalkKC Jason Schildt, Overland Park Resident, Garmin employee Alejandro Schlagel, Shawnee Mission School District Fred Spears, City of Overland Park Councilmember - Ward 4 Dick Wellenstein, Citizen Advisory Council on Parks & Recreation Wendy Wilson, Neighborhood Conservation Program City of Overland Park Safe Bicycle Use Outreach Project Technical Committee Larry Blankenship, Assistant City Engineer, Department of Public Works Doug Brown, Public Works Director (Retired), Department of Public Works Nico Cantarero, Water Quality Specialist, Department of Public Works Tim Fitzgibbons, GIS Analyst, Planning & Development Services Jack Messer, Director of Planning & Development Services Sean Reilly, Communications Manager, City Manager s Office John Rod, Manager, Community Services, Planning & Development Services Greg Ruether, Director, Parks Services, Parks & Recreation Department Brian Shields, City Traffic Engineer, Department of Public Works Prepared By: Toole Design Group Vireo 16 North Carroll Street, Suite 200 929 Walnut, Suite 700 Madison, WI 53703 Kansas City, MO 64106 i

Table of Contents ES Executive Summary...v Purpose and Need... vi Vision and Goals... vi Existing Conditions...vii Goals, Objectives and Actions...viii The Bikeway Network... xi Implementation & Funding...xiii Conclusion... xiv 1 Introduction & Purpose...1 1.1 Vision and Goals... 2 1.2 Purpose and Need... 2 1.3 The Case for Bicycling... 3 1.4 The Project Process... 8 2 Existing Conditions...13 2.1 Regional Context... 14 2.2 The Street Network... 14 2.3 Bicycle Mode Share... 15 2.4 Existing Bicycle Facilities... 16 2.5 Bicycle Crashes... 17 2.6 Barriers to Bicycling... 18 2.7 Plan & Policy Review... 20 3 Bikeway Types & Design Guidance...21 3.1 Bikeway Types... 22 3.2 Bikeway Design Guidance... 33 4 Goals, Objectives & Actions...35 4.1 Recommendations Structure... 36 4.2 Vision Statement... 36 4.3 Goals, Objectives, and Actions... 37 5 The Bikeway Network...45 5.1 Network Development & Facility Selection... 46 5.2 Bikeway Network Framework... 48 5.3 The City Network... 50 5.4 The Neighborhood Network... 64 5.5 Freeway Crossings... 80 6 Implementation & Funding...95 6.1 Network Development Approaches... 96 6.2 Implementation Steps & Priority Corridors... 99 6.3 Planning Level Cost Estimates...102 6.4 Funding Opportunities...104 7 Conclusion...109 8 Maps...111 ii

List of Tables Table 1: Overland Park Street Types... 14 Table 2: Recommended target BLOS for existing Overland Park streets... 47 Table 3: Recommended target BLOS for new Overland Park streets... 47 Table 4: Miles of existing and recommended bikeways in Overland Park... 49 Table 5: City Network facility lengths and costs... 50 Table 6: Characteristics of the City Network... 50 Table 7: Neighborhood Network facility lengths and costs... 64 Table 8: Characteristics of the Neighborhood Network... 64 Table 9: Trail & Sidepath Network facility lengths and costs... 80 Table 10: Characteristics of the Path Network... 80 Table 11: Changes to existing street cross sections to accommodate bicycle facilities... 97 Table 12: Implementation actions and responsible agencies...101 Table 13: Planning level cost estimates per mile of bikeway...103 Table 14: Bikeway network planning level cost estimates...103 Table 15: Potential Federal funding sources for bicycle projects...106 List of Figures Figure 1: Bicycle Commute Mode Share in Overland Park and other areas... 15 Figure 2: Reported bicycle crashes in Overland Park by time of day, 2004-2014... 17 Figure 3: Legend for bikeway corridor maps in Chapter 5... 49 Figure 4: The City Network Bikeway Corridors... 50 Figure 5: The Neighborhood Network Bikeway Corridors... 64 Figure 6: The Path Network Bikeway Corridors... 80 Figure 7: Miles of bikeway facilities...103 Figure 8: Percentage cost for bikeway implementation...103 List of Maps Map 1: Existing Bikeways...113 Map 2: Bicycle Crashes in Overland Park...114 Map 3: Recommended Bikeway Networks...115 Map 4: Recommended Bikeway Facilities...116 iii

This page intentionally left blank.

Executive Summary City of Overland Park Safe Bicycle Use Outreach Project SUMMAryE Executive Introduction The City of Overland Park Safe Bicycle Use Outreach Project is a coordinated and strategic effort to develop a comfortable, safe, and accessible network of bicycle facilities throughout Overland Park. This Project Report builds on existing assets in the city, including an extensive network of paths and trails, a diverse range of bicycle riders, and strong interest from the public in improving bicycle conditions and safety in Overland Park. The Project Report addresses challenges that bicyclists currently face, including lack of a connected network and safety concerns. The Project Report strives to improve the experience of bicyclists throughout the city, while also addressing issues such as education and awareness, driver behavior, bicycle parking, and maintenance of bicycle facilities. This Executive Summary provides a succinct summary of the Project Report, including key recommendations for improving bicycling in Overland Park. v

Executive Summary Purpose and Need The City of Overland Park undertook the Safe Bicycle Use Outreach Project to gauge the needs of the bicyclists in the city. City officials have long heard from a small group of bicyclists that the City should be doing more to improve bicycling conditions and safety in Overland Park, particularly for on-street bicycling. City officials felt that there was validity in many of these requests, but wanted to engage in a process that would reach out to numerous types of bicyclists and other groups to ensure that bikeways that are developed serve a wide range of Overland Park residents and meet the needs of different groups. Additionally, the City desired guidance on developing a bikeway network that is cohesive, works with Overland Park s developed infrastructure, and provides an action plan and planning level costs for developing the network. Vision and Goals Extensive public outreach was carried out for the Safe Bicycle Use Outreach Project and is detailed in Chapter 1 and Appendix B of the Project Report. Based on this outreach, the following vision was developed by the Project Steering Committee: The City of Overland Park will be a bicycle friendly community that encourages the use of bicycles for transportation and recreation. The City will have a well-connected bikeway network that safely and efficiently connects destinations throughout the City and will strive to make bicycling a viable transportation option within the City. Four specific goals were developed to support this vision: 1. Improve bicycle safety, access, and connectivity to, from, through, and within Overland Park. 2. Provide institutional support for improving bicycling in Overland Park. 3. Conduct educational, encouragement, and enforcement efforts throughout the City to promote the benefits of bicycling, bicycle safety, the proper use of bicycle facilities, and rules for sharing the road. 4. Regularly measure and evaluate Overland Park s progress toward increasing bicycle safety and use. These goals are supported by specific objectives and actions that are detailed in Chapter 4 of the Project Report. Accomplishing these goals will set the city on a course to achieve its vision and to provide transportation choices for residents, create a well-connected bikeway network that serves a wide range of users, and increase the safety and mobility of bicyclists in Overland Park. vi

Executive Summary City of Overland Park Safe Bicycle Use Outreach Project Existing Conditions Chapter 2 of the Project Report details existing conditions for bicycling in Overland Park. Overland Park has an extensive network of bike-hike trails (shared use paths), particularly in the southern half of the city. These paths are extremely popular with residents and visitors to the city alike. The city does not have any designated on-street bicycle facilities. This lack of on-street bikeways was noted time and time again during the public outreach process. While the path network provides great recreational opportunities for users, the paths do not work well for transportation trips as they often do not reach the destinations people wish to visit, are indirect, and are often congested with pedestrians and slower recreational bicyclists. While many people are comfortable bicycling on neighborhood streets, trips on collector streets and thoroughfares are necessary to complete a trip of any length. These streets tend to carry significant traffic volumes, often at significant speeds, and many people are not comfortable bicycling on them in their current state. Bicycling in Overland Park (and Kansas as a whole) is relatively safe. In the period from January 2004 through March 2014, a total of 188 bicycle crashes were reported to Overland Park Police an average of only 1.5 crashes per month. While these statistics likely do not capture minor crashes and crashes on paths or private property (i.e. parking lots), this number is quite low. Despite the low number of serious crashes, people reported during public outreach opportunities that they have significant safety concerns about bicycling on the street in Overland Park. The Indian Creek Trail is extremely popular with Overland Park residents and visitors alike. vii

Executive Summary Goals, Objectives & Actions As noted previously, four specific goals were developed by the Project Steering Committee to help achieve the vision for the project. Those goals, along with supporting objectives and specific actions, are provided below. Chapter 4 of the plan provides these tables, but also includes a discussion about whey each objective is important, and what the actions will help achieve. Goal: Improve bicycle safety, access and connectivity to, from, through, and within Overland Park. Objective: Create an extensive, well connected network of on-street bikeways in Overland Park. Action: Provide bicycle accommodations on or along all collector and thoroughfare streets where space is currently available or when they are resurfaced or reconstructed. Action: Consider adding traffic calming measurers to portions of the Neighborhood Network detailed in Chapter 5 to provide bicycle boulevards parallel to major street corridors and connecting locations such as schools and parks. Action: Ensure that the bicycle network provides connections into communities surrounding Overland Park. Action: Include bicycle accommodations in all newly constructed collector and thoroughfare streets. Objective: Increase the off-street bikeways and connections throughout Overland Park. Action: Continue to expand the City s extensive network of off-street paths and trails following the recommendations of this plan and the City s Greenway Linkages Plan. Action: Close key gaps in the off-street bicycle network by implementing the bikeway recommendations contained in this report and the Greenway Linkages Plan. Action: Provide high-visibility crossing treatments where shared use paths cross major streets. Where paths need to cross major barriers, overpasses or underpasses may be necessary. Action: Construct all new shared-use paths to AASHTO standards. Action: Provide centerline striping on heavily used portions of shared use paths and through all underpasses and through corners with limited visibility. Objective: Maintain bicycle facilities to a level that provides year-round safe, comfortable, and convenient usage for all users. Action: Sweep all on-street and paved off-street bikeways regularly to ensure a travel surface that is free of sand, gravel, leaves, and other debris. Action: Provide prompt maintenance of potholes and other pavement damage on bikeways. Action: Repaint or re-mark bikeway markings before they fade. Action: Have a plan in place to clear snow from on-street and off-street bikeways in a timely manner to allow for year-round use. viii

Executive Summary City of Overland Park Safe Bicycle Use Outreach Project Objective: Provide support infrastructure to make it easy for people to bicycle in Overland Park. Action: Ensure that the bicycle network is clearly identified through directional and wayfinding signage. Action: Provide ample bicycle parking in commercial districts and at parks and schools that complies with the Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals guidance described in the Bicycle Parking Guidelines, 2nd Edition: http://www.apbp.org/ Objective: Improve bicycle access at hazardous areas and across major barriers such as freeways. Action: Provide high-visibility bicycle crossings at freeway interchange ramps and major intersections. Action: Ensure that bicycle access is maintained when construction closes bikeways. Objective: Ensure that future development and redevelopment includes bicycle accommodations and provides a connected bikeway network. Action: Implement Overland Park s Complete Streets resolution by including bikeways with all newly constructed or reconstructed collector and thoroughfare streets identified in this report. Action: Ensure that the Overland Park zoning and subdivision codes include requirements for bicycling facilities such as bicycle parking requirements and land dedication for shared use paths. Action: Limit the use of cul-de-sacs and provide a pattern of local streets in new developments which permits connections between neighborhoods. When cul-de-sacs are allowed, a bicycle and pedestrian path should connect the end of the cul-de-sac to any paths, streets, parks, or commercial developments that may abut the properties on the cul-de-sac. Goal: Provide institutional support for improving bicycling in Overland Park. Objective: Provide internal guidance for the review and development of bikeways and bicyclesupporting events and activities in Overland Park. Action: Consider creating the position of Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator or assigning the duties to existing staff. Action: Consider creating an official City of Overland Park Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee. Action: Aggressively pursue funding for bicycle and pedestrian facilities from federal, state, and local sources. Action: Educate Overland Park staff, especially within the Public Works, Planning and Development Services, Parks Services, and Recreation Services Departments, as to their responsibilities for implementing this report and its recommendations. ix

Executive Summary Goal: Conduct educational, encouragement and enforcement efforts throughout the City to promote the benefits of bicycling, bicycle safety, the proper use of bicycle facilities, and rules for sharing the road. Objective: Provide events and incentives to encourage more people to bicycle more frequently. Action: Sponsor Bike to Work Week and Bike & Walk to School Day activities. Action: Sponsor and/or support local family-friendly events that promote bicycling. Action: Promote the National Bike Challenge to employers to encourage increased bicycling for both recreation and transportation. Action: Sponsor and/or support a local competitive bicycling event such as a bike race. Objective: Educate Overland Park residents about bicycling safety issues and the rules of the road as they pertain to motorists, bicyclists, and pedestrians. Action: Provide bicycle education events such as bicycle rodeos and other activities to teach safe bicycling to both youths and adults in Overland Park. Action: Include at least one piece of bicycle and pedestrian education annually in City communications to residents (i.e., newsletter, utility bills, tax bills, etc.). Action: Provide bicycle safety and education materials on the City website. Action: Investigate offering a bicycle and pedestrian education course as an alternative for bicyclists, pedestrians, and motorists who are first-time offenders of bicycle and pedestrianrelated rules of the road. Objective: Increase enforcement of existing traffic laws for all street users, particularly those that pose the greatest risks to bicyclists. Action: Enforce posted speed limits, particularly in school speed zones. Action: Utilize automated speed-tracking equipment to provide feedback to motorists when they are exceeding the speed limit. Action: Target the enforcement of those laws that will have the broadest impact on bicyclist safety. Goal: Regularly measure and evaluate Overland Park s progress toward increasing bicycle safety and use. Objective: Regularly evaluate and assess levels of bicycling in Overland Park. Action: Conduct annual bicycle counts to measure bicycling levels and the usage of bikeways within Overland Park. Action: Continue to track and monitor the number of reported bicycle crashes within the city. Action: Consider applying for Bicycle Friendly Community status from the League of American Bicyclists by 2016. Action: Consider applying for Bicycle Friendly Business status from the League of American Bicyclists by 2016 to serve as a role model for Overland Park employers. Action: Promote the Bicycle Friendly Business program from the League of American Bicyclists to Overland Park employers. x

Executive Summary City of Overland Park Safe Bicycle Use Outreach Project The Bikeway Network Chapter 5 of the Project Report details the recommended bikeway network for Overland Park. This network includes off-street bikeways such as paths and trails, on-street bikeways such as bicycle lanes and shared lane markings, and a range of other facilities that will make bicycling more convenient and more comfortable for a range of bicyclists, and is likely to improve overall safety for bicyclists. This network will make bicycling in Overland Park a more realistic travel option than it is today. The bicycle facilities recommended for specific locations are a direct response to existing conditions and user needs along various streets in the area. They also are based on national standards and guidelines, proven best practices, use of emerging designs and technologies, and the experiences of other jurisdictions in the Midwest. The analytical process used to identify the recommended network integrates local knowledge, engineering judgment, and input received through the Steering Committee, City staff, the public, and others. Portions of this process are described in this Chapter 5, and significantly more detail is provided in the Appendix. Descriptions of the facilities recommended in Chapter 5 are included in Chapter 3. The recommended bikeway network is designed to meet the needs of people already bicycling as well as the needs of potential and future cyclists in Overland Park. This Project Report places a high value on developing a network that over the long run will allow children and senior cyclists, novice and experienced cyclists, regular and occasional commuters, students, visitors, tourists, and recreational riders to all feel comfortable and safer bicycling in Overland Park. Group rides regularly take to Overland Park s thoroughfares, but most bicyclists are not comfortable riding on these streets as they are today. xi

Executive Summary The bikeway network recommendations are divided into three categories: The City Network: The City Network is primarily comprised of bikeways on thoroughfare streets. These bikeways provide direct connections across the city, but generally on streets that only more experienced bicyclists will be comfortable riding on. The typical bikeway types on the City Network are buffered and standard bike lanes. The Neighborhood Network: The Neighborhood Network is comprised of bikeways on collector and some local streets. Many of these bikeways run for considerable distance across the city, but their primary purpose is to connect neighborhoods and destinations such as schools and parks. These bikeways are designed for a broader range of bicyclists than the City Network. The typical bikeway types on the Neighborhood Network are standard bike lanes and shared lane markings. The Trail & Sidepath Network: The Trail & Sidepath Network consists of shared use paths throughout the city. These paths may be in their own right-of-way (bike-hike trails) or may be sidepaths along a busier street. The Trail & Sidepath Network is designed to serve all levels of bicyclists; however, faster bicyclists and those looking for more direct connections to destinations will be better served by on-street bikeways. Many segments of the Trail & Sidepath Network form key connections in the City and Neighborhood Networks. Most of the recommended paths and trails shown as part of the Trail & Sidepath Network have been identified in the Greenway Linkages Plan; only newly identified segments are detailed in this chapter. Taken together, these three networks form a single, cohesive Overland Park Bikeway Network. The division of the larger network into three categories is primarily useful for planning purposes; from the user perspective, there will not be a significant difference when moving from one bikeway to the next. The Table below provides an overview of the miles of each facility type that make up the recommended Overland Park Bikeway Network.. Facility Type Existing Miles Recommended Miles Total Miles Bicycle Lanes 0.00 165.87 165.87 Buffered Bicycle Lanes 0.00 48.75 48.75 Shared Lane Markings 0.00 30.46 30.46 Signed Bike Routes 0.00 3.32 3.32 Shared Use Paths 80.37 14.60 94.97 Total 80.37 263.00 343.37 Each network is detailed in Chapter 5, including detailed descriptions of the facilities recommended for the network. The network is grouped into corridors streets that taken together make a longer linear run across the city. These corridors are not always continuous, they may have gaps where a bikeway does not exist or may be divided by a freeway. However, over time, these gaps may be filled and continuous bikeway connections can be made through the corridor. Map 3 at the conclusion of the Project Report displays the networks by type, while Map 4 displays the recommended facility types for each street or path segment. xii

Executive Summary City of Overland Park Safe Bicycle Use Outreach Project Implementation and Funding The Overland Park Bikeway Network is intended to be implemented over the next ten to fifteen years or more by taking advantage of street resurfacing and other roadway projects whenever possible. Chapter 6 of the Project Report provides an overview of steps to implement the Bikeway Network as well as an overview of network costs and funding opportunities. During this period of implementation some bikeways will be installed that do not directly connect to other bikeways or obvious destinations this is a necessary effect of incremental implementation. It is important not to judge the performance and utility of these isolated bikeways until they are connected to the larger network. As more and more bikeways are installed, the network will gradually fill out, and a complete, well-connected bikeway system will form. This is also the way the performance of the network should be judged it will take time before connections are made and bicyclists are able to make more frequent and longer trips on a well-connected bikeway network. Miles of Bikeway Facilities Bikeways can be implemented either when a new street is constructed, or can be retrofit onto an existing street. Including bikeways when a street is constructed or resurfaced is significantly less expensive than retrofitting bikeways onto existing streets. The Project Report recommends that bikeways should be included with all new collector streets and thoroughfares in Overland Park to ensure that the City is meeting the goals of its Complete Streets ordinance and is constructing bikeways in the most economically efficient manner. Where bikeways are recommended on existing streets and changes will be needed to the street configuration, it is recommended that the bikeways be implemented when the street is next resurfaced to minimize costs. Chapter 6 of the Project Report includes planning level cost estimates for implementing the Overland Park Bikeway Network. These costs are intended to provide an order of magnitude for project costs actual costs will not be known until each project is designed and bid. It is important to note that the vast majority of the costs for implementing the bikeway network are for including bikeways on streets that have not yet been reconstructed to city standards. As shown in the figures to the right, only 18% of the bikeway network is on streets that have not been constructed to city standards, yet these bikeways account for 67% of the total network cost. Put another way, 76% of the bikeway network is on existing Overland Park streets and can be implemented for only 9% of the total 48.75 18% $6,604,300 24% 14.60 6% Percentage Cost for Bikeway Implementation $2,856,900 10% 199.65 76% $18,263,500 66% Existing Streets Future Streets Shared Use Paths Over 75% of the proposed bikeway network can be implemented on existing Overland Park streets at relatively low cost. Existing Streets Future Streets Shared Use Paths The vast majority of the cost for implementing the Overland Park Bikeway Network will come from including bikeways on streets as they are reconstructed to city standards. xiii

Executive Summary network cost. Bikeways on future streets may not be constructed for decades, and when they are constructed, the costs for including bikeways will be incidental to the overall project cost. The costs for implementing bikeways on existing city streets and providing the recommended paths represents 35% of the total costs, and is reasonable given a ten to fifteen year timeframe for implementation. Bikeway Network Estimated Cost City Network $19,825,100 Neighborhood Network $1,295,300 Trail & Sidepath Network $6,604,300 Total $27,724,700 Chapter 6 also includes potential sources for funding implementation of the bikeway network. Whenever possible, state and federal grand funds should be sought to help leverage local funds. Conclusion In many ways, Overland Park is already a great place to ride a bicycle. The city has an extensive hike-bike trail network that connects into neighboring communities, quiet neighborhood streets allow for families to bike, and the number of bicycle crashes with motor vehicles is relatively low. However, there are significant concerns among residents about bicycling on busier Overland Park Streets and there is a strong desire to see a bikeway network developed that provides bicycle facilities on major streets and connections to employment centers, parks and recreational facilities, and other destinations. The Project Report makes numerous recommendations that are focused on providing a safe, well-connected bikeway network in Overland Park. The recommendations call for the implementation of nearly 250 miles of on-street bikeways and nearly 15 miles of off-street paths and trails in addition to what the City has previously planned. The recommendations also call for increased education and encouragement activities related to bicycling, enforcement of traffic regulations for all street users, and ongoing evaluation of the City s efforts to improve bicycling conditions. If these recommendations are carried out, the City of Overland Park will become a great city to bicycle in that offers its residents safe transportation options and a great quality of life. The Overland Park Bikeway Network should provide opportunities for all types of bicyclists to comfortably ride in the city. xiv